"At the recommendation of our experts, the university will no longer use high pressure hoses to clean the trees; they will be cleaned by hand," the university said in a statement.

This was welcome news to Auburn defensive tackle Nosa Eguae, who said there's no other feeling in the world than seeing a tree rolled with toilet paper on a Sunday morning in Auburn.

"I prayed about trees. I really did," he said. "It's something that's such a part of this Auburn identity. It means so much to the town, so much to the Auburn family, that come Sept. 4 after we beat Utah State, we will have those trees rolled and it's going to be amazing, for sure."

Haves vs. have-nots

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley shed some light into how BCS and non-BCS schools think in his answer about Mike Slive's proposal to provide multi-year scholarships.

"Are we going to allow the institutions and programs to set their rules, then allow the market to handle which way they go and the success they have, or are we going to take over and define what everybody does all the time?" Dooley said.

There was more.

"Otherwise what we need to do is get off the campuses and form us a little college league like the NFL if we're going to go in that direction," Dooley said. "Then it's one group. We represent the college football league, not the school. We're all the same. We all wear the same sideline gear except the color of everything. It's all uniform.

"That's what makes college unique. We got programs that have $100 million competing with programs that have $10 million. Things aren't level. Things aren't equal. That's just the way it is. I think that's a unique thing, fun. Makes great fodder for the fans, brings pride to the institution because of their uniqueness. I don't think that's something we should be ashamed of."

Responses like these are why some people believe the Football Bowl Subdivision will spit at some point. The financial gap -- and the thoughts on how to govern college sports based on different desires by schools -- continues to widen.

Forgive and forget

Remember the uproar about the hit from Auburn's Nick Fairley on Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray last year? Murray is well over it.

"He's a great player," Murray said. "It's gonna happen. You're gonna face guys who get their licks in. You're gonna get protected as a quarterback. Sometimes people say we get protected too much."

No Cam? No problem, says Blake

Auburn players faced the obvious question: How do the Tigers continue to be a prolific offense without Cam Newton? Wide receiver Emory Blake attempted to quell that thinking.

"Two years ago when we had Chris Todd we were still putting up points," Blake said.